Boxing News: WBC to Review Corrales-Castillo

LAS VEGAS (May 12, 2005) - Upon reading today’s press release from the WBC which stated it was “naming a committee to review the [Diego Corrales-Jose Luis Castillo] fight,” Gary Shaw, president and CEO of Gary Shaw Productions, LLC., Corrales’ promoter, issued the following statement:

“I will be naming my own committee to review the WBC committee, including the true reason of its genesis, its true purpose and its final findings. How anyone can question the results of one of the greatest fights in boxing history is beyond me. But for a prestigious organization like the WBC to put any credence into it – well, that’s like questioning Buster Douglas’ monumental victory over Mike Tyson. I will not sit back and allow Diego’s victory to be tainted, and I will name a blue ribbon committee to investigate. I have an obligation to Diego, as his promoter, and as a promoter of the Corrales-Castillo fight, to get to the bottom of this. This is an outrage. I have asked Steve Springer, winner of the BWAA 2004 Barney Award for Investigative Journalism, and boxing writer from the Los Angeles Times, to head up the committee, and I encourage media who covered the fight and select fighters to join too.”

The following is the complete statement from the WBC release:

“The WBC is very proud of the great fight between Jose Luis Castillo and Diego Corrales, and we believe that it is one of the greatest fights in many years. The WBC does not want at all to take any merits from Corrales or Castillo, and we also respect Corrales’ return from being practically knocked out to come back and win the title, but there has been a lot of furor about the fight. There have been many protests from most of the press in Mexico and Latin America, as well as the Federal Boxing Commission in regards to the performance of the referee, who, among other things, let approximately 40 seconds go from the moment of the second knockdown to the continuing of the action in the tenth round. The WBC is naming a committee to review the fight.

“The lightweight championship of the world was held under the trademark of the WBC, and is our obligation to respond to all matters that receive a request, and we think that there was something that was done wrong. It is our obligation to those who trust the WBC’s impartiality, rules, and actions.”